Archos GamePad Now Shipping in the UK for £130; with Android 4.1, 1.6GHz CPU & D-Pad

It looks like the Archos GamePad gaming Android tablet is no longer just mythical vaporware. It has finally started hitting retail store shelves in the UK for £129.99. Besides coming with a 1.6GHz dual-core processor and Mali 400mp quad-core GPU, the gaming tablet actually does have the D-Pad gaming controller built-in as originally shown in earlier prototypes. Here's the full press release,

London, UK  December 6th, 2012 - ARCHOS, an award-winning innovator in consumer electronics, announces the retail availability of the highly anticipated GamePad, a new type of tablet that combines gaming controls with AndroidTM for a full tablet and gaming experience in one. Gamers will not only have access to all their favourite games, they will also have access to email, Internet, apps and more through one device. A thin and light Android 4.1 Jelly Bean device, the Gamepad also features full access to Google PlayTM and Google Mobile Services and is available for £129.99 starting from 6th of December from the ARCHOS online store.

"Android device users spend more than 9 hours a month gaming on their devices and yet are not completely satisfied with the touch-screen experience," says Henri Crohas, Founder and CEO of ARCHOS. "We feel this area of gaming is proven and will continue to grow. With the introduction of the GamePad we are uniquely positioned to feed the demand of gamers who want a better gaming experience on a tablet."

The GamePad features a 16 million color, seven inch, five point capacitive, 1024 x 600 pixel screen, physical control buttons and analogue sticks. The Google certified tablet has full access to Google PlayTM for the tens of thousands of games available and runs a 1.6 GHz dual-core processor combined with a Mali 400mp quad-core GPU.

By combining the GamePad's 14 physical buttons and dual analog thumb-sticks with the revolutionary ARCHOS game mapping tool (exclusive to ARCHOS), the GamePad brings the physical aspect back to the gaming experience. In addition, at only 10 mm (0.3 inch) thin and with a weight of 330g (0.7 lbs), the ARCHOS GamePad is the perfect on-the-go gaming console.

REVOLUTIONARY MAPPING TOOLHow
Thanks to the revolutionary ARCHOS mapping tool, even back catalog games that weren't made for physical controls can work with the physical controls of the ARCHOS GamePad; 'map' any on-screen virtual control to the physical controls of the GamePad for hundreds of games within the tool or use its drag-and-drop interface to 'map' any game in seconds.
Check out our YouTube video showing how easy it is to use: ARCHOS GamePad - Mapping buttons - YouTube
The mapping profile for each game is automatically saved so whenever that game is launched in the future, the ARCHOS game mapping tool will automatically load the corresponding mapping profile.

Memory: 8GB of internal memory with microSD slot or up to 64GB of additional space.
Mini-HDMI: Use the mini-HDMI port to connect the GamePad to your TV for a big screen viewing experience.

Google PlayTM: 700,000 apps and games and includes DRM support for downloading books, magazines, music, movies and TV shows.

ARCHOS Media Center applications: tailor made apps for video and music that include metadata scraping, auto-subtitles and of course, the best format and codec support around including 1080p video decoding.

ATTENTION DEVELOPERS
Developers interested in getting their current and upcoming games mapped for the ARCHOS GamePad can contact GamePad@archos.com.

ABOUT ARCHOS
ARCHOS, pioneer in the portable audio and video player market, and now specializing in Android Tablets, has repeatedly revolutionised the market for consumer electronics since 1988. Today, ARCHOS offers Android Tablets, Tablet PCs and MP3/MP4 players. In 2000, ARCHOS launched the Jukebox 6000, the first MP3 player combined with a hard disk. Then in 2003 ARCHOS introduced the first portable multimedia players with TV recording. In 2006 Wi-Fi is implemented and then touch screens in 2007. In 2008, ARCHOS launched the first generation Internet Tablets, and then the first ever Android powered tablets in 2009. ARCHOS has offices in the United States, Europe and Asia. ARCHOS is quoted on Compartment B of Eurolist, Euronext Paris, ISIN CodeFR0000182479. Website: ARCHOS.

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